HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL: Nottingham gets win, looking for division title now

HAMILTON — The Nottingham High girls’ basketball team is looking for respectability this year, and if a banner comes along with it the Northstars wouldn’t argue.

Surging Nottingham won for the fourth time in six games with a 62-34 win over visiting Hamilton last night, and is suddenly looking to make a run at a Colonial Valley Conference Valley Division title.

It would be a heck of an achievement following a three-win season that was marred by upheaval.

“That was a goal when we set our team goals at the beginning, and at practice in order to get a little more intensity I tell them that banner over there is mine,” said coach Lauren Kelly, motioning to the flag with Kelly’s 2005 Valley championship team adorning it. “I remind them every day that ‘That can be yours.’”

Advertisement

Nottingham (5-8) is starting to play like it wants the title, as the Northstars rolled to a 12-3 lead over the struggling Hornets (3-11) and kept building on it from there.

Jalliet Taylor, who Hamilton had no answer for with forward Courtney Adams still out injured, collected 20 points and 18 rebounds. Imani Alston had 15 points and Annisa Holman added 10 points and eight boards.

“We had a good effort,” said Holman. “We wanted to be the Queens of Hamilton Township so we came out with full force and in the second half we didn’t give up the intensity.”

The Hornets tried to hang in and trailed 21-12 midway through the second quarter before Nottingham ended with a 9-4 spurt to open a 30-16 advantage at intermission.

The Northstars continued to pull away in the third quarter, and Alston applied the hammer with nine fourth-quarter points.

“Just because we were up in the second quarter, we didn’t want to feel like we were too comfortable,” Holman said. “We kept it up and came out with the W.”

“What our coach told us in the lockerroom is we always complain during our games,” Taylor said. “So she came out and told us no excuses, no emotions, no exceptions. We had to have pride, we were on our homecourt, we couldn’t lose.”

The fact Nottingham didn’t let down is what had Kelly’s Irish eyes smiling afterward.

“Any time you come out against a township rival you don’t know what’s gonna happen,” said the coach, whose team swept Hamilton and Steinert this year. “There’s a lot of emotions, they’re all friends. So I was nervous but they came out and kept the emotions in check and they executed.”

They also took advantage of a Hornet team that is struggling to score without Adams, as opponents continue to key on Erin Septer (14 points) and dominate the boards.

“We’re really undersized so it’s really hard,” said Lashay Ross, who led Hamilton with 17 points. “We’re having a tough time boxing out, no one boxed out this game. Coach (Erin Wolverton) told us that was how we could win, by boxing out and playing defense, but we didn’t really do that today.”